Paint samples are useful to both vendors and purchasers of paint. Pre-made cards, called paint chips, which are often provided as long strips displaying multiple colors, can be used by consumers for a preliminary evaluation. However, for many purposes, these pre-made cards are not adequate and actual fresh samples of the paint are preferred. For example, when paint is actually applied to a surface, the appearance may not be exactly the same as the paint chip. This may occur due to errors in formulating or mixing the paint, for example. A fresh paint sample may therefore be used to confirm correct color formulation and mixing, such as by comparison of the paint sample to the color chip. Other uses for fresh paint samples include the analysis of paints of unknown color. When the color of a paint is unknown, a fresh paint sample may be prepared and analyzed by a spectrophotometer. The spectrophotometer can then identify the color of the paint and provide to a computer the colorimetric data to create a formulation to reproduce the unknown paint color.
In order for the fresh paint sample to be most useful, such as for color matching and spectrophotometric analysis, the sample should be of a thickness adequate for evaluation and should also be of a uniform thickness. A quick method of preparing a fresh paint sample is to dip a finger into the paint and spread the paint on a piece of paper. However, besides being messy, such “finger smears” are often uneven, and this unevenness can lead to miscalculation by the spectrophotometer.
Draw down sample cards can be prepared to provide uniform fresh color samples. Such draw down samples cards can be prepared by applying a puddle of paint at one end of a sheet of paper and sliding a bar through the paint to spread the paint down the sheet. When prepared properly, the resulting sample will have a uniform thickness that is adequate for analysis. However, the preparation of draw down sample cards can be messy, with the paint sometimes running over the edges of the sheet as the bar is drawn down. When less paint is used, such that run over on the edges does not occur, there is a gap at the edge of the sheet. This unpainted margin around the edge of the sample interferes with visual matching and comparison of the sample to paint chips or other items, since the sample is not directly side-by-side with the item to which the color is compared, such as a paint chip, fabric, carpet, furniture piece, or other object. These unpainted margins can be removed, such as by cutting with a scissors, but this requires an extra step which is time consuming if done carefully, and can result in samples which are not uniform in size and/or have irregular edges and therefore appear less professional. An improved method of preparing paint samples would therefore be useful.